Wednesday, 30 September 2015

New dimensions to an ongoing debate/conversation

Why I didn't want to test for Down syndrome before birth
Kasey Edwards, Daily Life, 29th September 2015
... Even when I told the doctor performing my 12-week ultrasound that I didn't want to know the risk of Down Syndrome, he told me the results anyway.

It's standard practice for doctors to withhold other information (at the parents' request), such as the baby's gender, so why - when it comes to information about disability - was my decision not respected? ...


Kari Wagner-Peck, A Typical Son, 24th August 2015
... Am I comfortable with the fact that 60 – 90% of women chose to abort a fetus found to have Down syndrome? No, I’m not. In fact, It angers me. That anger however is not directed at the woman having the abortion. It is at our medical community in its supreme ignorance insisting on relaying antiquated information about Down syndrome to women at what is likely the most vulnerable time in their life.

I place blame as well on our insistence that disability be seen as a profound disadvantage in a society that places an inordinate emphasis on normal. The greatest disability our son faces is what people think of him not his Down syndrome.

The New York Times interviewed two primary sources for coverage of this legislation: Right to life groups and pro-choice organizations. Both responded proforma meaning as expected.

My alliance is obviously with the pro-choice contingent but I was disappointed with their advocates making no mention of people with Down syndrome. They only spoke about ‘Down syndrome’ as a potential cause for concern for expectant mothers ...


... The Times reported “the national and local Down syndrome associations have not taken a position on the bill”. How is that possible? ...

Don't politicize my son over Down syndrome
David Perry, How Did We Get Into This Mess? 24th August 2015
... All of this makes disability-selective abortion possible for Down syndrome in the way it currently isn't for other conditions. But technology is racing forward, and we need to figure out how to talk about these issues. The Ohio legislation's blanket ban isn't going to help at all, but even if it's enforced somehow, it could just lead women to lie about the reasons they aborted, or make Down syndrome code for poverty, when only poor people are forced to give birth after a diagnosis ...

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